Isabel V. Cortez

Maria Isabel Vasquez Cortez, age 88, died April 18, 2026

Our Mama was a faithful servant of God and beloved wife, sister, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother; she was known as "Isabel" and “Cheve” by all those who knew and loved her. Isabel is loved by her four children: Fernando, Maria Teresa, Alejandro, and Enrique (deceased); six grandchildren: Elizabeth C. Gillard, Cristian Nicolas Cortez, Daniel Vincent Cortez, Aaron Martin Cortez, Sarah Ruth Cortez, and Liam Alexander Cortez; one great-grandchild: Hugh Henry Gillard; two step-grandchildren: Morgan Layda Spencer and Anthony Trey Baker; daughters-in-law Edith Juarez Cortez, Michelle Fay Cortez, and Lindsey Kay Cortez; grand-son-in-law: Benjamin P. Gillard. Isabel was the fourth child of twelve children: Jose Carmen Vasquez (deceased), Carmen Vasquez (deceased), Jose Vasquez (deceased), (Isabel now deceased), Patricio Vasquez, Ernesto Vasquez, Arturo Vasquez, Sister Carolina Vasquez, OSF (deceased), Sister Cecilia Vasquez, OSF (deceased), Fidencio Vasquez, Javier Vasquez, and Alejandro Vasquez. Isabel also has many sisters-in-law, brothers-in law, nieces, and nephews.

Isabel's parents, Jose Norberto Vasquez and Paula Esparza Vasquez, preceded her in death and whom she loved very much. Isabel's husband, our Dad, Luis Fernando Cortez (Nando), passed away on May 26, 2009, at the age of 73. They had a deep love for one another and their family; tangible, visible, and obvious to all.

Isabel was born in the Val Verde neighborhood of El Paso, in the little green house, at the corner, on Dolan Street; you know the one. She was raised in the Catholic faith, attended mass faithfully, and was devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Isabel wore the brown scapular every day of her life and also prayed the rosary every day.

Isabel was an inspiration to all who knew her. She was a mom extraordinaire. She loved, embraced, supported, cared for, worried for, and blessed her children every day. "Nos daba la bendicion". She taught her children many things including how to play baseball, fly kites and save kites when they got stuck in trees, feed ducks swimming in lakes, watch sunsets over the Pacific Ocean at Terminal Island or Vandenburg Air Force Base, joyfully frolic in monarch butterfly swarms, be kind to everyone, to love to read and pray, and so much more. She wasn't upset when she found that one of us had left a grasshopper in our pants pocket; this after the pants had been washed and dried. She helped us give the grasshopper a proper burial. Her children grew up to become a Professor of Education, an Executive Chef, a Home Dialysis Nurse, and a Chief Information Officer & Information Security Officer. She was the wife of a Federal Bureau of Prisons executive and carried through her responsibilities with grace and humble poise.

Isabel was the first person and the first woman in her family to attend college, Texas Western College, now The University of Texas at El Paso. She was an accomplished artist and a painter, skilled in many media including oil painting and watercolors. Her artwork adorns her home. You should see her portrait of the Blessed Virgin Mary carved from wood and painted in oils, her blue desk, and her paintings of the California flower fields in Lompoc, CA. Beautiful! She was a seamstress and made all of our clothes when we were young. She was an excellent chef; Oh, to hear our family friend, Father Richard (Dick) Houlahan, OMI, expound on the dishes she served for dinner; it was like listening to poetry and gratitude tied into a bow! Her talents in the kitchen, I am sure, were passed on to our brother an accomplished Chef himself and to our sister who can bake supremely delicious goodies of all sorts. We love those biscochos; the recipe passed down through generations of women in our Mama's family!

Isabel was a gardener; it runs in the family! She was a two-times cancer survivor, by the grace of God and dozens of angels unseen in her life, but whose presence was always felt. She was one of the first patients to undergo and survive thyroid cancer radiation therapy in the United States. She was hospitalized for one year, away from her family, to undergo this treatment. We all missed her very much.

Isabel was a Master Catechist for the Catholic Diocese of El Paso having served more than 50 years. She taught catechism to thousands of children, including her own. She was a certified substitute teacher. She was a member of the Catholic Daughters of America. She was a member of the Hijas de Maria Sodality. And she played the drums in her high school marching band at Jefferson High School winning "all-City!"

One final story. During the filming of the television miniseries "The Winds of War,” certain tennis scenes were filmed on a tennis court across the street, in front of our home on Terminal Island. One day the film crew parked several cars and trucks in front of our home and blocked our Mama from being able to leave to pick us up from school, (about a 30- minute commute one way). Mama called executive management (our Dad!) to complain and ask for help. The cars and trucks were soon moved. The next morning our Mama's favorite actor, Robert Mitchum, (star of the miniseries), knocked on the front door of our home, and brought her a huge bouquet of roses and apologized profusely for the film crew. She was so excited to meet Robert, that she immediately forgave him and the film crew and invited him to have breakfast with her. Robert accepted. They spent the morning talking, laughing together, eating breakfast, and getting to know one another! Our Mama never forgot Robert's kindness and she knew our Dad had something to do with it!

The Cortez family wishes to give special thanks to the staff at Nazareth Living Care Center, The Bartlett Assisted Living, Tender Care Home Health & Hospice, The Hospitals of Providence Transmountain Campus, and University Medical Center of El Paso for taking such good care of our mom. Special thanks to Joe Urrutia from Tender Care Hospice for guiding us through our mom's final days. And special thanks to the many family, friends, and many others who helped us take care of our Mama. You are all “angelitos!”

Funeral Arrangements:

Visitation & Rosary: Friday, May 22, 2026 from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM at Sunset Funeral Home - West, 480 N. Resler Dr. El Paso, TX 79912. Rosary service is from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

Funeral Mass: Saturday, May 23, 2026 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at St. Matthew Catholic Church, 400 W. Sunset Road, El Paso, TX 79922.

Interment/Inurnment: Saturday, May 23, 2026 at 11:30 AM at Mount Carmel Cemetery, 401 S. Zaragoza Rd., El Paso, TX, 79907.

Reception: Saturday, May 23, 2026 from: 12:00 Noon to 3:00 PM at Sunset Funeral Home - West, 480 N. Resler Dr. El Paso, TX 79912.

Obituary & Livestream at: https://www.sunsetfuneralhomes.net/obituaries/isabel-cortez

The Cortez family would like to ask that, if you wish, in lieu of flowers, please consider sending a donation to any of the following:

1. "Sisters Caroline and Cecilia Vasquez, OSF Scholarship Fund for Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Community": https://catholicfoundationelpaso.org/find-a-fund/catholic-school-endowments/sisters-caroline-and-cecilia-vasquez-osf-scholarship-fund-for-our-lady-of-the-valley-catholic-community
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3. Father Yermo Schools : https://www.fatheryermoelpaso.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=2106257&type=d&pREC_ID=2147127
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5. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: https://www.stjude.org/give/cancer-donations.html
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7. Alzheimer's Foundation of America: https://alzfdn.org/donate/
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